Our Team of Mad Scientist Writers

Posts written by our bloggers may contain content that is not the opinion, stance, or policy of the ASCP.

Current bloggers:

Christi Wojewoda, MD, is certified by the American Board of Pathology in AP/CP and Medical Microbiology. She is currently the Director of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Vermont Medical Center and an Associate Professor at the University of Vermont. She enjoys teaching pathology residents, medical students and clinical laboratory science students. One of her interests is test utilization.

Neerja Vajpayee, MD, went to medical school in New Delhi, India at Maulana Azad Medical College and also completed a residency in pathology in India before moving to the US. After being on the faculty at SUNY Upstate for several years ( 2002-2016) where she was involved in diagnostic work and medical student/resident teaching she has now joined Oneida Pathology Associates in Oneida, New York. She is the director of Clinical Pathology at Oneida Health Center and is actively involved in signing out surgical pathology and cytology cases in a community setting. She enjoys teaching students, residents, fellows and laboratory technologists.

Erin McElvania, PhD, D(ABMM), is the Director of Clinical Microbiology NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Illinois. Her interests include teaching, pediatric microbiology, and clinical research focusing on molecular microbiology.

Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ)“Dan The Lab Safety Man” has over 25 years experience as a certified medical technologist. He has a bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dan worked as a laboratory generalist in hospitals ranging in size from 75 to 800 beds before becoming a laboratory manager. Today he is the Laboratory Safety Officer for Sentara Healthcare, a system of seven hospitals and over 20 laboratories and draw sites in the Tidewater area of Virginia. He is also known as Dan the Lab Safety Man, a lab safety consultant, educator, and trainer.

Lisa Stempak, MD is an Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. She is certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology as well as Medical Microbiology. Currently, she oversees testing performed in both the Chemistry and Microbiology Laboratories. Her interests include infectious disease histology, process and quality improvement, and resident education.

Sharleen Rapp, BS, MB(ASCP)CM graduated from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences. She currently is a Molecular Diagnostics Coordinator in the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at Nebraska Medicine where she is responsible for running and maintaining clinical assays, as well as testing and implementing new assays into the molecular lab. The aspects of her job that Sharleen enjoys the most are the ever-changing atmosphere of molecular diagnostics, the chance to evaluate new technologies, and teaching the residents, fellows and clinical laboratory scientist students that rotate through the lab.

Constantine E. Kanakis, MSc, MLS(ASCP)CM is a board certified Medical Laboratory Scientist and one of ASCP’s 2017 Top 40 Under Forty. He graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a BS in Molecular Biology and Bioethics and then Rush University with an MS in Medical Laboratory Science. His graduate research focused on novel biochemical interventions for hematopoietic stem cell transplants and engraftment; his clinical roles included generalist, transplant/transfusion, QA/QC, and hematology. He also managed clinical education and led a CAP inspection response team. His professional memberships include APHA, ASCP, ASCLS, and UCS. With ASCP he has completed the Advanced Certificate in Medical Laboratory Management through Lab Management University, been featured in ASCP’s Stories from the Heart Series, and been recognized nationally as a top-ten medical student with the ASCP Academic Achievement Award. He is also an ASCP Social Media Ambassador and is currently a medical student conducting his clinical clerkship rotations at Bronx-Care Hospital Center in New York, NY.

Lotte Mulder earned her Master’s of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2013, where she focused on Leadership and Group Development. After she graduated, Lotte started her own consulting company, focusing on establishing leadership practices in organizations, creating effective organizational structures, and interpersonal coaching. Professionally, Lotte comes from a background in experiential leadership, working in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the U.S. There she worked to increase leadership skills in young adults through cultural immersion, service learning and refugee issues, and cross-cultural interpretation. She is currently working toward a PhD in Organizational Leadership.

At ASCP, Lotte is designing and facilitating the ASCP Leadership Institute, an online leadership certificate program. She has also built ASCP’s first patient ambassador program, called Patient Champions. This program leverages patient stories as they relate to the value of the lab.

Xin Yi, PhD, DABCC, FACB is a board-certified clinical chemist. She currently serves as the Co-director of Clinical Chemistry at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Raquel Martinez, PhD, D(ABMM), was named an ASCP 40 Under Forty TOP FIVE honoree for 2017. Dr. Martinez is one of two System Directors of Clinical and Molecular Microbiology at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania. She completed her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, studying the bacterial pathogenesis of Vibrio cholerae at Dartmouth College. Dr. Martinez completed a clinical postdoctoral fellowship in Medical and Public Health Laboratory Microbiology at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Microbiology. Dr. Martinez’s research interests focus on infectious disease diagnostics, specifically rapid molecular technologies for the detection of bloodstream and respiratory virus infections, and antimicrobial resistance, with the overall goal to improve patient outcomes.

Becky Socha, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM BB CM graduated from Merrimack College in N. Andover, Massachusetts with a BS in Medical Technology and completed her MS in Clinical Laboratory Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She has worked as a Medical Technologist for over 30 years. She started teaching Hematology and Pathophysiology in 2000 and found a new passion. She has taught in the MLS program at UMass Lowell and currently teaches Transfusion Medicine at Stevenson University in Stevenson, Maryland. She has worked in all areas of the clinical laboratory, but has a special interest in Hematology and Blood Banking. When she’s not busy being a mad scientist, she can be found outside riding her bicycle.

Catherine Stakenas, MA is the Senior Director of Organizational Leadership and Development and Performance Management at ASCP. Her leadership expertise is rooted in the laboratory where she worked primarily in hospital laboratories and transitioned to business with Quest Diagnostics. She earned her MA in Integrated Professional Studies from DePaul University and has been an Associate Professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology since 2004. She is certified in the use and interpretation of 28 self-assessment instruments and has designed and taught masters and doctoral level students.

Chelsea Marcus, MD is a third year resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. She earned her medical degree at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine after completing her undergraduate education at the University of Florida where she majored in Microbiology. She will be starting her fellowship in Hematopathology at BIDMC in July. She has a particular interest in High-grade B-Cell lymphomas and the genetic alterations of these lymphomas.

Troy G. Krieger, MS, MLS(ASCP)CMSCYMCMQLSCMCLS(MT) graduated from Montana State University Billings with a BS in Biology, Medical Laboratory Science option. He received a NAACLS Certificate and clinical training from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND, where he also received his Master’s degree. He is a Medical Laboratory Scientist / Flow Cytometrist at Yellowstone Pathology Institute, Inc in Billings, MT and his interests include Hematology, Immunopathology, and Flow Cytometry.

Jeff SoRelle, MD is a Molecular Genetic Pathology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. His clinical research interests include understanding how the lab intersects with transgender healthcare, advancing quality in molecular diagnostics. And because there are so many interesting questions in the world, he also works in basic science discovering the genetics of allergic disease, which he began an as HHMI fellow in medical school.

Dan Milner, MD, MSc, Chief Medical Officer, ASCP: Dr. Milner completed his MD at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 2000 and his residency/fellowship in Anatomic Pathology/Clinical Pathology/Microbiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2005. Before joining ASCP, Dr. Milner spent 10 years at Harvard where he taught pathology, microbiology, and infectious disease; was the primary lead for infectious disease consultations in AP/CP; and was the recipient of numerous research grants in the areas of malaria and HIV. In addition to these accomplishments, Dr. Milner began working in Africa in 1997 as a medical student and has built an international reputation as an expert in cerebral malaria. In parallel with this, he has been heavily involved in pathology capacity building in many countries and, most notably, lead the team that built an anatomic pathology laboratory in Rwanda and Haiti for advance cancer diagnostics. In his current role, he leads all PEPFAR activities with ASCP, and leads the Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa Initiative. Dr. Milner is the author of over 135 publications and has presented national and internationally on his work in more than 20 countries.

Kyle Nevins, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM is one of ASCP’s 2018 Top 5 in the 40 Under Forty recognition program. She has worked in the medical laboratory profession for over 18 years, and is currently employed at Northwell Health Laboratories on Long Island, NY. In her current position as a Laboratory Supervisor for the Northwell Consulting Team, she transitions between performing laboratory audits across the entire Northwell Health System, consulting for at-risk laboratories outside of Northwell Health, bringing laboratories up to regulatory standards, and acting as supervisor and mentor in labs with management gaps.

Kelly Swails, MT(ASCP) graduated from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Science. She worked in clinical laboratories for almost 20 years before joining the publication team at American Society for Clinical Pathology. Her first love is microbiology, but she enjoys all areas of the lab. She edits the Lab Medicine website as well as the Lablogatory blog.

Former bloggers:

Sarah Riley, PhD, DABCC is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology and Immunology at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. She is the Co-Medical Director of the Core Clinical Laboratory and Director of Point of Care and Ancillary Services at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She is also the Co-Director of Clinical Pathology Services for Pathologists Overseas, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to improving world-wide access to quality laboratory medicine and histopathology. She is passionate about bringing the lab out of the basement and into the forefront of global health.

Susan M. Lehman, MA, MT(ASCP)SM graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983 with a BS in medical technology. In 1991, she completed her master’s degree in psychology and counseling services from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, Minnesota. In 2008, she completed the Professional Development Certificate Program in Distance Education through the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She worked as a medical technologist at Mayo Clinic in the Division of Clinical Microbiology for 10 years. Subsequent to this, she became involved in education at the medical and allied health level and led the establishment of academic programs in clinical laboratory science in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. Susan has 15 years of teaching experience, and she is program director for the Medical Laboratory Science Program and course director for Clinical Microbiology I and II. Her areas of interest are distance education and education methodology.

Phillip Michaels, MD is a board certified anatomic and clinical pathologist who is a current hematopathology fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. He earned his medical degree at the University of Tennessee College Of Medicine and completed his residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he also served as chief resident. His research interests include molecular profiling of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma as well as pathology resident education, especially in hematopathology and molecular genetic pathology.

Dr. Andrew Lyon, PhD, FCACB, DABCC pursued biochemistry at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada obtaining a BSc in 1983 and PhD in 1988. He trained as a clinical chemist at the University of Ottawa and in clinical toxicology at the University of Washington. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry a diplomat of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. He has worked as clinical chemist in both Saskatoon and Calgary. Andrew has served many roles with the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists and is currently the past-president. Dr. Lyon has also served on provincial societies, the board of Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry and as the IFCC website editor. He is currently Division Head of Clinical Biochemistry of the Saskatoon Health Region and teaches general pathology residents as a clinical associate professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan.

Kristine Krafts, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine and School of Dentistry. She has been teaching pathology to medical and dental students at the University of Minnesota, where she completed her medical degree and AP/CP pathology residency, for over 20 years. She is the founder of the educational website “Pathology Student” (www.PathologyStudent.com), and the author of several pathology books and study guides. Her daily email newsletter “Path Bites” provides short, fun pathology essays to over 10,000 subscribers. Dr. Krafts’ goal is to make learning pathology easy and fun.

Robert Schmidt, MD, PhD, MBA, MS is a clinical pathologist who specializes in the economic evaluation of medical tests. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Utah where he is Medical Director of the clinical laboratory at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Director of the Center for Effective Medical Testing at ARUP Laboratories. He conducts cost-effectiveness studies, diagnostic accuracy studies and studies on test utilization.

Carlo Ledesma, MS, SH(ASCP)CM MT(ASCPi) MT(AMT) is the program director for the Medical Laboratory Technology and Phlebotomy at Rose State College in Midwest City, Oklahoma as well as a technical consultant for Royal Laboratory Services. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines and a Master of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Sciences in North Chicago, IL. He is certified as an International Medical Technologist and Specialist in Hematology and also has a Qualification in Laboratory Safety. Carlo has worked in several areas of the laboratory including microbiology and hematology before becoming a laboratory manager and program director.

Lori Racsa, DO is certified by the American Board of Pathology in Clinical Pathology and Medical Microbiology. She is the director of microbiology, immunology, and chemistry at Unity Point Health Methodist, and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine at Peoria. While microbiology is her passion, Lori enjoys all aspects of laboratory medicine and has a keen interest in getting the laboratory involved as a key component of an interdisciplinary patient care team.

Carolyn Burns, MD, is a Board Certified Pathologist (AP/CP) and served as Medical Director of the Jewish Hospital Healthcare System, Department of Pathology (Louisville, KY.) from 1991 to 2011. This included medical directorship of the Transfusion and Tissue Services for this 5- hospital system. Additionally, she is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Louisville and until recently, had been the Medical Advisor for the Clinical Laboratory Science Program. Dr. Burns is an inventive and passionate advocate for blood management having worked as Transfusion Director for Strategic Healthcare Group from 2011 to 2014. She has been published in peer reviewed journals and textbooks and is frequently sought as an engaging speaker on diverse pathology and immunology topics including transfusion reactions, plasma transfusion, anticoagulant/antiplatelet reversal strategies,transfusion in solid organ transplant, and Factor VII.

Thomas S. Rogers, DO is a third-year resident at the University of Vermont Medical Center, a clinical instructor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and the assistant medical director of the Blood Bank and Transfusion Medicine service. His interests lie in inventory streamlining and management, blood product safety, and identifying risk factors in transfusion reactions.

Patti Jones PhD, DABCC, FACB, is the Clinical Director of the Chemistry and Metabolic Disease Laboratories at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, TX and a Professor of Pathology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas where she teaches residents and fellows. Patti is actively involved with the AACC and the NACB. She enjoys teaching and her interests include all areas of laboratory medicine, especially those related to pediatrics and inborn errors of metabolism.

Betty Chung, DO, MPH, MA is a hematopathology fellow at the Houston Methodist Hospital. She has a BA from The University of Chicago, MA from Boston University School of Medicine, DO from UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine (now Rowan-SOM), and MPH from Columbia University and a decade of experience in basic science research. She completed her AP/CP residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago (PGY1-2) and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (PGY3-4). Her current interests lie in graduate medical education, quality improvement, hematopathology, and molecular genetic pathology. She previously blogged for the Lablogatory since its inception on resident relevant issues and perspectives and hopes to expand the scope of her blog posts to include those aforementioned areas of interest and her fellowship experiences.

LeAnne Noll, BS, MB(ASCP)CM graduated from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. In the past, she has worked as a research technologist studying vascular and molecular biology. She also worked as a molecular technologist and designed, implemented, and performed clinical molecular diagnostic testing assays. LeAnne has been published in journals, abstracts, and poster presentations. In 2015, she was recognized as one of ASCP’s Top Five from the 40 Under Forty Program. Her interests include molecular diagnostic testing, training, and professional development.

Beverly Sumwalt MA, DLM, CLS, MT(ASCP) has over 30 years of operational leadership in healthcare and related industries. She has demonstrated abilities in international assignments, business development and project management, implementing strategic initiatives, operations and is skilled with team development and mentoring emerging leaders. She has proven ability in managing multiple priorities and projects, developing goals and objectives, and formulating policies. Her excellent presentation, facilitation and communication skills quickly develop and maintain effective working relationships in culturally diverse settings. Her strong service and quality-oriented philosophy, combined with comprehensive scientific and business background, have provided significant contributions and achievements in healthcare operations and laboratory services.

Matthew Herasuta, MBA, MLS(ASCP)CM is a medical laboratory scientist who has spent the majority of his short career with The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a generalist and serves as the Blood Bank and General Supervisor for the regional Euclid Hospital. He has contributed to Lab Medicine on several occasions and will contribute to the blog with management and administrative topics. He received his bachelors of science in Clinical Laboratory Science at Ohio Northern University and received his Masters in Business Administration with a Healthcare focus from Baldwin Wallace University.

Caroline Satyadi, MT(ASCP), SM, DLM, SLS, MBA, MS, CQA (ASQ) has been a laboratory management professional for over 25 years. She’s been actively involved in several areas of laboratory operation and quality management. She has worked with several different medical industries for CLIA/CMS, FDA/ICH/ISO, TJC/CAP/COLA/HFAP accreditation survey readiness. In her practice, she has visited more than 65 hospitals, domestically and internationally. She has also successfully built almost a dozen CLIA-certified laboratories from the ground up. As a member of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) she has served on the Board of Directors as well as the editorial board for the journal Clinical Lab Management Review. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Council of Laboratory Professionals committee. Ms. Satyadi will write about improving laboratory efficiency and best practices in the clinical laboratory setting.

Joe Chaffin, MD, is the new Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for LifeStream, a Southern California blood center headquartered in San Bernardino, CA. He is a former Director of Clinical Pathology Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA and former VP of Medical Affairs at Bonfils Blood Center in Denver, CO. Dr. Chaffin has a long history of innovative educational efforts, and is most widely known as the founder and chief author of “The Blood Bank Guy” website (www.bbguy.org). Dr. Chaffin’s professional mission is to teach basic Transfusion Medicine to as many as possible.

Marie Levy spent over five years working at American Society for Clinical Pathology in the Global Outreach department. While at ASCP she worked to implement a grant from the Centers for Disease Control to improve medical laboratory infrastructure in developing countries. Ready to retire her frequent flier cards, she now works in the Firms and Corporate Relations department at Northwestern University Law School.